Thebe Magugu was asked to reinterpret Christian Dior’s 1947 New Look by Maria Grazia Chiuri for a limited-edition capsule collection with Dior, which will aid the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, a charity that aids South African youth. The New Look was considered a revolution at the time having a small cinched waist, padded hips and a full flared skirt often worn with a wide-brimmed hat.
Magugu reimagined the New Look’s cinched bar jacket as an oversized cotton T-shirt tucked into a sheer pleated skirt and a bucket hat. The printed cotton T-shirt depicts a graphic of two females holding hands, Thebe’s signature emblem which embodies sisterhood and speaks to Chiuri’s feminist theme at Dior.
Magugu changed the original full skirt and turned it into two rounded shapes; the pleated tulle joins at the waist and then flares out. Both the T-shirt and skirt are voluminous and accentuate the waist. The look is paired with a Dior Book Tote and a bucket hat with dangling Thebe Magugu logo ribbons, both having the same sisterhood motif as the T-shirt.
“I think it’s quite exciting seeing how two brands from such completely different heritages, histories and geographies come together to sit down and have a visual conversation,” he said in an interview with WWD.
At the time when Christian Dior introduced the New Look the length and fullness of the skirt seemed new and extravagant after the war. Magugu’s reinterpretation of the New Look creates and reflects a new sense of modernity and femininity by acknowledging that today’s woman wants to dress differently and prefer to wear oversized clothing, athleisure or streetwear as formal wear and sheer clothing.
The Thebe Magugu and Dior limited-edition capsule collection combines skilled artisanal techniques around the world. Dior ateliers and suppliers created everything except the T-shirt, which was made by a local South African manufacturer.
Magugu reimagined the New Look for today and has continued to redefine femininity with the oversized T-shirt and youthful sheer skirt for the modern woman who wants to be casual but feminine at the same time.
By Tamar Hayden
